Rapper Eminem’s mother Debbie Nelson has died at the age of 69 after battling cancer.
The My Name Is rapper’s mother passed away on Monday evening, December 2, in St. Joseph, Missouri, due to complications from lung cancer, TMZ reports. His illness first came to light in September.
Born in 1955 on a military base in Kansas, Nelson described his upbringing in a chaotic home environment in his 2008 memoir, My Son Marshall, My Son Eminem. Her parents divorced before she was 10, leaving her with the responsibility of the family at a very young age as the eldest of five siblings. At the age of 16, Nelson married Marshall Bruce Mathers Jr., father of Slim Shady. Two years later, in October 1972, she gave birth to Godzilla the Rapper.
Her relationship with the Grammy-winning rapper, now 52, has been a tumultuous one over the past few years. He publicly ridiculed her in his 2002 song Cleanin’ Out My Closet. Em’s scathing lyrics about his mother prompted him to file a defamation suit demanding USD 11 million. The court ruled in his favor but he was awarded only a fraction of the amount after accounting for his legal fees; He received approximately US$1,600.
Em has also elaborated on her complicated relationship with her mother in other songs such as My Name Is, My Mom, Insane and an unreleased song called The Apple. At one point, Debbie released a CD titled Set the Record Straight, where she responded to several of her son’s insulting songs about her.
Also read: Eminem recreates lost family moments in the emotional Somebody Save Me music video From the Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grace) featuring Jelly Roll.
Despite their difficult relationship, Nelson said she wanted to make peace with her son, calling on him to move on and not dwell on past resentments. In 2013, Em extended an olive branch and apologized to her mother through her song headlights. He acknowledged their role in his upbringing and expressed regret that he did not thank them earlier.
In recent years, Debbie was seen supporting her son from a distance. After Shady was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2022, he congratulated her on social media and even in a video message. He expressed pride in what he had achieved while acknowledging the long journey to get there.
“Marshall, I want to say, I can’t let this day go by without congratulating you on being inducted into the Hall of Fame. I love you so much. I knew you’d get there. It’s been a long journey. I’m so proud of you,” she said in the now-deleted video.
Debbie Nelson is survived by her sons, Eminem and Nathan Mathers.
Also read: 5 Times Eminem Learned About Being A Dad When The Rapper Announced Daughter Hailey Jade’s Pregnancy
